NEW ALBANY, IN.  (WDRB) --Floyd County's 911 dispatch system will soon be able to help twice as many people with emergencies.  They'll do it without hiring new people.  The county recently purchased a new digital system.

Floyd County Dispatchers say the new system has a lot of bells and whistles.  But more importantly, it will provide better coverage for people in the county. 

"I feel like it's going to allow us to cut down on some of the missed things that we've missed on the analog versus the digital.  Digital is a lot clearer in sending it out," says Pam Squier, Dispatch Supervisor.

"It will put us kind of up with MetroSafe in Louisville with the technology," says Sheriff Darrell Mills, Floyd County Sheriff's Department.

The digital system comes after a disappointing and failed attempt by Sheriff Mills to merge city and county dispatchers.

"This could be one center utilized for the whole county and we should not have to duplicate services to the tax payers who ultimately foot the bill whether it's through 911 fees or taxes," says Mills.

Sheriff Darrell Mills says real emergencies will also get priority when the new system is up and running.  "You've got 4 or 5 phones going because you have an accident going at the same time that you have your wife at home and you're on 3rd shift...and somebody suspicious around the house...you want 'em to be able to get to the people they need which is the services here...Police, Fire or EMS."

The new system will also help open the lines of communication with other departments such as Metro Police.  Mills says, "It could be a minor traffic violation where traffic offenders are crossing the bridge either north or south coming into Indiana or us going over to Kentucky. We'll be able to communicate with Louisville officers."

And they will be able to better communicate with their own people too.  "We're going to be able to talk directly to the ambulances where we couldn't do that before," says Mills.

The new system will be up and running Tuesday morning.

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